Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee
Bouma was one of my favourite players last year. He embodies what it means to have an excellent work ethic, character, and the attitude to do whatever it takes to win. He may be a 3rd or 4th line player, but he plays that role better than anyone else on the team.
He reminds me a lot of Stephane Yelle. Our 2004 cup run and in fact, any championship team, have key role players like that to go into the dirty areas and face 90+ mph shots without flinching.
It would be a big mistake to not sign this guy, and if the negotiations are split over $0.5MM or something like that, I'd give in if I were the Flames. This is a guy you want in your roster, a guy underrated for the intangibles and character he brings every night.
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Agreed. Anyone who has watched this team from 2006-2013 has to know how hard it is to find effective 3rd/4th line players. I'm not saying it is great now, but having guys like Byron/Bouma definitely beats the duds that have populated the bottom two lines throughout those years. I haven't seen consistent effort like that from our role players since 2004.
These are the types of players that help shape the identity of a team, and to let them go for nothing would send the wrong kind of message to the team.